Firearm



Patented June 30, 1942 UNITED ST'TES FIREARM Harold F. Mossberg, New Haven,.Conn., assignmto F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., New Haven,

This invention relates to firearms of the bolt action type having a receiver provided with a loading and shell ejecting port in its periphery at its forward end, and more particularly to an improved means to cover this port while a shell is being fired.

In bolt action firearms, the forward end of the loading and shell ejecting port is usually disposed'closely adjacent the breech end of the barrel and should back-fires occur when a shell is fired, flame, and shell and powder particles may be blown out through this port into the face and eyes of the user. It is also possible that foreign matter will enter the receiver through this port and seriously interfere with the efiicient opera tion of the firearm, or cause the barrel to become clogged.

It is contemplated, as one object of this invention and to obviate the above disadvantages, to

provide a cover for the loading and shell ejecting port of firearms, which is arranged to be antomatically removed when the firearm is operated to load it and to eject shells therefrom.

Another object is to provide in a firearm of this type a port cover which is secured to the slidable bolt of such a firearm for reciprocation therewith and which overlies an end of the bolt to protect it and the parts associated therewith,

Still another object is to provide in a bolt action firearm a receiver having a loading and shell ejecting port which is closed at each end, and a cover for closing this port when the firearm is being loaded.

A further object is to provide in a firearm of the above type improved means to cover a loading and shell ejecting port which will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, simple in construction, compact, of pleasing appearance, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, there has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing two forms in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawing, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a broken side view of a bolt action firearm embodying the features and principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l but showing the parts thereof in another position;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Figure 1, the bolt being unsectioned to disclose the detail structure of its end and the parts associated therewith;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional View taken on line 4*4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an end view of the parts shown in Figure 4 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrow 5 in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a broken side viwe of a somewhat modified form of firearm; and

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Figure 6.

In bolt action firearms, a bolt [0, carrying a firing pin H and other parts, such as shell ejecting and extracting fingers I2, is slidably mounted in a receiver iii. A barrel i4 is secured to and extends from the forward end of the receiver 13. The receiver I3 and the barrel I are suitably secured to a stock IS. A trigger I6 is provided to release the firing pin H to fire a shell I! previously disposed in the breech end I8 of the barrel l4 and clamped therein by the bolt Ill. The belt Ill, which in this instance is non-rotatable in respect to the receiver I3, is manually slidable axially in the receiver by means of a lever 19. The lever I9 is rotatably mounted on the bolt IE], and is adapted to slide the bolts It] to force a shell I'I, placed between the forward end 20 of the bolt I!) and the barrel end l8, into the chambered bore 2! of the barrel It. Partial rotation of the lever [B into a notch 22, when the bolt I0 is in its forward position clamping a shell in the barrel I4, locks the bolt [0 in place, due to the lever H! becoming disposed in abutting relation with a forwardly directed shoulder 23, which forms one side of the notch 22. The bolt operating lever I9 is adapted to slide in an axially directed slot 24, formed'in the receiver l3 for this purpose, the slot 24 being open at the rear end of the receiver I3 to allow the bolt 10 to be entirely withdrawn from the receiver.

A shell l'l'may be disposed in the receiver l3 between the forward end 29 of the bolt ID and the barrel breech end I8 through a port 25, formed in the periphery of the receiver l3 adjacent the barrel end H3, or, in the case of magazine firearms, fed therebetween in the usual and wellknown manner (not shown) from underneath. The port 25 is closed at its forward end 26 by the material of the receiver l3 surrounding the breech end iii of the barrel l4, and at its rear end 21' by a narrow band 28 of receiver material surrounding the bolt Hi.

In order to cover the opening of the port 25 at the periphery of the receiver 113 and to over-lie and protect the forward end of the bolt [0 and the parts associated therewith at this point, a relatively thin sheet metal cover plate 29 is provided, which is concentric to the periphery of the receiver I3. In this instance, the cover 29 is arcuate in cross-section and is concentric to the cylindrical receiver l3, which is of the same diameter throughout its length. The cover plate 29 is arranged'and adapted to closely over-lie, while being unconnected thereto and thus free therefrom the periphery of upper surface of the forward end of the receiver l3 and to extend be: yond each of the ends 26 and 2! of the port 25, and beyond each of its side edges 3| and 32. The rear end of the cover plate 29 is reduced in width to form an extension, or narrow tongue 33, The cover extension, or tongue, 33 is, as herein shown, bent downwardly at the rear of the band 28 through the slot 24 and has a portion 34 extended along the bolt IE) to an intermediate point thereon, whereat it is rigidly and detachably secured directly to the bolt as by screw 35. The cover extension portion 34 is arranged to slide through the slot 24 in the receiver I3, said slot 24 being extended forwardly to the band 28 for this purpose.

The form shown in Figures 6 and '7 illustrates the adaptation of the features and principles of this invention to a bolt action firearm wherein a bolt 40 rotates in its entirety to align a bolt operation lever 4| with an axially directed slot 42 whereby the bolt 45 may be retracted. The slot 42, in this instance, is a continuation of a loading and ejecting port 43, there being no separating means, such as the band 28, between them.

A cover plate 44 for covering the port 43 is provided, and has a tongue 45 which is bent downwardly in front of the lever 4| being secured thereto by a screw, or the like, 46. The tongue 45 is of proper width to freely slide, with the lever 4|, through the slot 42 when the bolt 40 is retracted after being rotated to free the lever 4| from a notch 41. The lever 4| locks the bolt in forward position by abutting a forwardly directed shoulder 48. In this instance, the plate 44 rotates with the bolt 40 as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 7. When retracted with the bolt 49 the plate 44 assumes a position as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 6 wherein it covers the forward portion of the slot 42 where it communicates with the port 43.

Operation After a shell has been disposed in the receiver H2 in the position shown in dotted lines at H, in Figure 2, that is, between the forward end 20 of the retraced bolt Iii and the breech end N3 of the barrel l4, the bolt H) is pushed forward by the lever l9 into the position shown in Figures 1 and 4, to press the shell into the chambered bore 2| and clamp it in place, the bolt I being locked in such a position by the lever l9 abutting against the shoulder 23 of the notch 22. The cover plate 29, due to being secured to the bolt I0, is carried thereby into position to overlie the port 25 when the bolt is moved forwardly, as shown in Figures 1 and 4, whereby the port 25 is completely closed by the plate 23, in association with the closed ends 25 and 27 of the port 25, thus obviating any danger from possible back-fires. As the tongue 33 and its extended portion 34 is slidable in the slot 24, which is open at the rear end of the receiver l3, the cover plate 29 may be entirely and readily removed with the bolt H] from the firearm to permit .access to the interior thereof. The cover plate 29, being of relatively thin sheet, in addition to acting as a cover, forms what may be termed a relief valve for the receiver [3 in case of serious back-fire which might cause the development of damaging pressure within the receiver, by being capable of bending upwardly to open the port 25 and relieve the interior of the receiver 13 from such pressure, it having been left unconnected to the bolt at its forward end. Even when in such bent up position, the cover 29 acts to prevent the effects of a back-fire from seriously injuring the fiream user, being disposed between the breech end l8 of the barrel l4 and the eyes of the user. Should such a condition arise, no interference in the further operation of the firearm is experienced due to the free and unrestricted structure and disposition of the cover 29 in respect to the forward end of the receiver l3.

In the retracted position shown in Figure 2, the cover 29 acts to cover the forward end of the slot 24 and the greater part of the notch 22, to prevent foreign matter from dropping into the action and upon the forward end of the bolt I0, which might cause the same to jam or become damaged. Due to the above construction it is obvious that improved means has been provided which in one position efficiently acts as a cover for a loading and shell ejecting port, such as the port 25, and in another position acts to protect the bolt l5 and its associated parts, such as the shell ejecting and extracting fingers I2 by covering the same when they are in loading position. The improved protecting means of this invention is actuated when the bolt I5 is moved, without any attention on the part of the user, and thus may be termed automatic in its operation. When the firearm is unloaded and not in use, and the bolt Iii is in its forward position, the cover 29 efficiently prevents any possible damage to the interior parts of the firearm which may be exposed through the port 25,

While there have been shown and described herein two forms of automatically operable means to cover a loading and shell ejecting port and'to protectingly cover an end of the bolt of a bolt action firearm, it is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit and essential attributes thereof. It is therefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and it will be further understood that each and every novel feature and combination thereof, present in, or possessed by, the device herein disclosed,

forms a part of the invention included in this application.

What is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a firearm of the bolt action type, a receiverhaving a port opening adjacent its forward end, a cover plate for the port opening in the receiver, a bolt slidable axially in said receiver, said cover plate comprising a single piece of sheet metal having a relatively narrow portion at its rear end bent downwardly and then rearwardly to overlie the upper surface of the bolt in said receiver means to secure the said narrow portion to said bolt and a relatively wide forwardly directed portion generally arcuate in cross-section extending forwardly from the forward end of said narrow portion to over-lie the upper surface of said receiver and having no connection therewith but to cover the port opening therein.

2. In combination with a receiver having an axially directed slot and a port opening therein,

a bolt slidable in the receiver and an operating handle on the bolt and slidable in the slot in the receiver to slide the bolt forwardly and rearwardly through the receiver, a port cover comprising an arcuately shaped front portion freely overlying the receiver to cover the port opening therein when in one position, a rear portion adapted to slide in the slot in the receiver, means to secure the said narrow portion to said bolt and a portion extending downwardly through the slot from the rear end of the front portion to the front end of the rear portion to connect them together.

3. In combination in accordance with claim 2 and in which the connecting portion is bendable at its jointure with said front portion whereby any pressure caused by an excessive back-fire will be relieved by the upward bending of the front portion.

4. In combination, a receiver for a firearm having a port opening and an axially directed slot therein, a bolt rotatably and slidably mounted in said receiver, a cover plate for the part opening in the receiver comprising a front portion adapted to freely overlie the receiver, a connecting portion depending from the rear end of said front portion and adapted to extend through the slot in the receiver to be connected to the bolt therein, and means to releasably connect said rear connecting portion to the bolt whereby the cover in its entirety will rotate and slide with the bolt in respect to the receiver to cover and uncover the port opening therein.

5. In combination, a receiver having an axially directed slot and a port opening therein, a bolt slidable axially in said receiver, a one-piece sheet metal port opening cover plate having a front portion arcuate in cross-section adapted to overlie the receiver to cover the port opening therein, a rear portion adapted to pass through the slot in said receiver and seat on the bolt, and a relatively narrow portion extending down through the slot in the receiver and connecting the front arcuate shaped front portion and the rear portion seated on the bolt, said connecting portion being readily bendable whereby the front portion may be raised upwardly from the receiver to protect the user from back-fires, and means to secure the rear portion to the bolt.

HAROLD F. MOSSBERG. 

